Larix decidua Mill., European Larch
Account Summary
Introduced, neophyte, rarely recorded but often ignored and therefore under-recorded.
15 August 1986; Waterman, T. & Brain, P.J.T.; Kilturk Lough, Killalahard Td, Upper Lough Erne.
May to October.
Although this deciduous conifer, which is endemic to the Alps and the Carpathian Mountains (Jalas & Suominen 1973, Map 161), can readily self-seed in the British Isles, in the few sites where we know of the species in Fermanagh, it is almost certainly planted. Even more definitely, however, it is under-recorded in the county, there being records from only nine tetrads. The Fermanagh records are from lakeshore and riverside woods, mainly sited around the larger, lowland lakes, most of them undoubtedly estate plantations (details below).
The late Alan Mitchell, a forester and major authority on the identification and measurement of British trees described European Larch as being, "among the most valuable and decorative of all the trees we grow" (Mitchell 1996). L. decidua was introduced to B & I probably just before 1629. John Parkinson knew of it as a rarity, but he had never seen it cone (Parkinson 1629). The tree was first recorded from the wild in Britain in 1886, although before that date botanical field recorders very probably had simply ignored it (M.E. Braithwaite, in: Preston et al. 2002).
Though L. decidua is still occasionally planted for its excellent timber, it is unfortunately very susceptible to canker, so that more disease resistant larches, and especially the hybrid L. × marschlinsii (Hybrid Larch), which arose around 1897 as a cross between European Larch and the introduced L. kaempferi (Japanese Larch), are now very much more preferred (Mitchell 1996).
Fermanagh recorded occurrences
The details of the remaining eight records are: W end of Inishleague Island, Upper Lough Erne, 17 June 1987, R.S. Weyl & Mrs J. Whatmough; shore of Lower Lough Erne, N of Strahenny Point to Temple Hill, Rossfad Td, 13 July 1987, RHN; wood on Doocharn Island, Upper Lough Erne, 1 October 1987, B. Nelson; Glen Wood, Florencecourt, July 1990, D.M. Smith, W. McKenna & Ms E. Kennedy; Correl Glen woodland, 7 May 1992, J. Farren & T. Waterman; cutover bog 1 km NE of Dresternan Lough, towards Rosslea, 4 August 1995, RHN & RSF; Bilberry Island, Lough Melvin, 17 July 1996, EHS Habitat Survey Team; forest track, Tullyvocady Td, N of Derrin Mountain, 26 October 2010, RHN & HJN.
Names
'Larix' is the classical Latin name for this tree, Larix decidua, and the specific epithet 'decidua' denotes that it is deciduous, somewhat unusual for a coniferous tree.
Threats
A leaf blight and canker-causing fungal disease organism, Phytophthora ramorum, potentially fatal to a range of woody species including both Japanese and European Larches, is actively spreading northwards in Britain and Ireland at present. Between 2002-2009, the disease was found at 34 sites in N Ireland, mostly on Rhododendron and other ornamental species at sites which included plant production/retail premises, private gardens, private estates and public parks. All outbreaks were successfully controlled. The disease first attacked Japanese Larch in eastern N Ireland in 2010. It has not yet been found on Hybrid Larch. A second fungal species, P. kernoviae, has also appeared, although so far it is attacking mainly Rhododendron. These pathogens can be spread on footwear, vehicle wheels, tools and machinery, by the movement of infected plants and in rain, mists and air currents. Felling and burning of infected trees is the only effective containment measure known.